Which DESIGNER is responsible for the most consistently great album covers?

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― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Peter Saville.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:46 (twenty-one years ago)

vaughn oliver

LOCK THREAD

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

for me it has to be :

http://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/

― mark e (mark e), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmmm. Looks like Rateyourmusic doesn't allow the linking of images from their site. Sucks...

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm surprised Geir didn't put Hipgnosis (maybe he did)

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Howard Wakefield and Nick Knight, who have collaborated with Peter Saville, should also be included here.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 18 March 2005 23:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I put Roger Dean up there.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick Knight did the beetle made out of car parts for Massive Attack's Mezzanine, didn't he?

― Telephonething, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Kind words for Storm Thorgerson too. His work for Pink Floyd in particular, but also what he has done for The Mars Volta on their recent album. Fantastic.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Top Ten:

Reid Miles
Raymond Pettibon
Robert Crumb
Frank Frezetta
Mark Ryden
Roger Dean
Jim Flora
Klaus Voorman
Robert Williams
Cal Schenkel

― darin (darin), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:12 (twenty-one years ago)

xxpost yes, re: Mezzanine.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

what albums did Frazetta do covers for? Crumb's only done a couple (which I would rate a mere "pretty good"). I would say Hipgnosis pwnzz but by the late 70s there was some seriously bad shit to answer for...

and no one has yet mentioned one of my grade A numero uno all-time favorites: PEDRO BELL!!!!!

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:22 (twenty-one years ago)

trevor brown is cool if you like the mark ryden style with more little japanese girls in bondage.

― charleston charge (chaki), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:24 (twenty-one years ago)

frazetta paintings have been used, but i think they already existed. i mean, he didn't do them for album covers, did he? didn't they already exist as paperback fantasy fiction art?

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no idea, I've just never seen him referred to as an album cover artist. I can think of some Saxon sleeves that look sorta Frazetta-esque...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Molly Hatchet:

― Curious George Finds the Ether Bottle (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Paul Romano!

http://www.workhardened.com

― ng, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Trevor Jackson is usually pretty dependable. And the new Soulwax album and single covers are brilliant.

― Telephonething, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, actually you guys are right, I think. Most of Frazetta's album are was pre-existing stuff that was used, so replace him with Coop or Frank Kozik or whoever.

― darin (darin), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:47 (twenty-one years ago)

oh jesus no Kozik is awful. what a talentless asshole.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Neon Parks did some great works for Little Feat, Frank Zappa and others.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Mike Coles

http://www.studio-c.co.uk/

http://www.maliciousdamage.co.uk/

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 19 March 2005 00:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Other greats: Jeff Kleinsmith and Art Chantry, but I guess both are better known for their flyers rather than album covers.

― darin (darin), Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:00 (twenty-one years ago)

B+.

― Telephonething, Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:03 (twenty-one years ago)

i was always a fan of the designer's republic

― sleep (sleep), Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:05 (twenty-one years ago)

for Hip hop, Jeff Jank @ Stones Throw and DirtyDesign.net

― DJ Cheese, Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

destroy: nagel

― charleston charge (chaki), Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Ken Kelly!

http://www.kenkellyart.com/online-shop/images/thumb/love-gun_small.jpg http://www.kenkellyart.com/online-shop/images/thumb/Destroyer_small.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:44 (twenty-one years ago)

i want to give props to Sonic Youth for hiring some of the best arists of all time to do their covers.

Richard Kern, Mike Kelley, Richard Prince, Raymond Pettibon, Gerhard Richter, etc.

― Antonio DePietro, Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd second (third?) the Peter Saville mention, and throw in the far-less-prolific Barney Bubbles.

― pingouin, Saturday, 19 March 2005 01:53 (twenty-one years ago)

SEARCH: NAGEL!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 19 March 2005 02:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Vaughan Oliver and Peter Saville, definitely seconded/thirded. I'd also add Neville Brody and Benoit Hennebert. NOW we can lock thread.

― Quit glaring at Ian Riese-Moraine! He's mentally fraught! (Eastern Mantra), Saturday, 19 March 2005 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

whoa, gerhard richter did a sy cover? investigating...

― sleep (sleep), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, daydream nation then. well i had no idea, that's really cool.

― sleep (sleep), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't think SY hired GR.

― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Power and Glory, although I don't think they've done any album/single covers aside from those with Hooverphonic.

― Let's keep the afterbirth and throw Ian Riese-Moraine away! (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 20 March 2005 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

NOW end thread.

― Let's keep the afterbirth and throw Ian Riese-Moraine away! (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 20 March 2005 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Peter Saville! Peter Jackson is seriously close to god for me. The man started out designing record sleeves then goes on to start his own label and greated Playgroup (which i thought was super dope shit.
Although as far as the Grammy's go....Kevin Reagan (former art director for Maverick Records and then M80 Interactive) has won more Grammy's for art direction than any other designer.
Madonna -Ray of Light Limited Edition
Madonna- Music Limited Edition
Dixie Chicks - Home Special Edition

Also a big fan of the typography dude from the UK that did the packaging for Bowie's "Heathen" record.

― zeropointDL, Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Milton Glaser ?

― Zed Szetlian (Finn MacCool), Sunday, 20 March 2005 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

dave mitchell:

http://thebigcity.co.nz/covers/t/3ds02.jpg http://thebigcity.co.nz/covers/t/3ds05.jpg http://thebigcity.co.nz/covers/t/3ds07.jpg http://thebigcity.co.nz/covers/e/exploding01.jpg

― chris andrews (fraew), Sunday, 20 March 2005 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

jeff kleinsmith

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Graham Lambkin

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:08 (twenty-one years ago)

The Designers Republic
Julian House @ Intro

― Sven Bastard (blueski), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

haha STEVE KEENE!

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Mark E Smith
Omit
Violent Onsen Geisha
EYE

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Mark Farrow

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Andy Warhol: Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Grant Green (!)

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Monday, 21 March 2005 00:00 (twenty-one years ago)

ed thrasher

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Monday, 21 March 2005 00:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Wait, who did Savage Republic's covers? They were pretty great from what I recall...

― Ian Riese-Moraine. Sweeter than a lorry load of white Toblerones. (Eastern Mantr, Monday, 21 March 2005 00:22 (twenty-one years ago)

their very own Bruce Lichter, most likely. he did most (all?) of the IPR stuff.

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Monday, 21 March 2005 01:17 (twenty-one years ago)

G. Sus (CRASS), Babs Santini / Stephen Stapleton (Nurse With Wound, H.N.A.S., Coil, Current 93, Legendary Pink Dots), EyE (Hanatarashi, Boredoms, Shock City Shockers, Beck) . . . I like whoever did all the simple repetitive Swans $ sign records too

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Monday, 21 March 2005 01:27 (twenty-one years ago)

The guys who design the Blood & Fire reissues (I forget the company name) are pretty good.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 21 March 2005 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost: That would be Gira!

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Monday, 21 March 2005 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't believe no one's mentioned WILLIAM S. HARVEY.

― robertw, Monday, 21 March 2005 01:49 (twenty-one years ago)

This has been a real education- GREAT POST!

― ANTONIO DEPIETRO, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

MANCHESTER band Joy Division topped an online poll to find the UK's most
iconic album cover.

Nearly half of the top ten was made up of Manchester acts, according to the poll of 1,000 users of www.musicmagpie.co.uk

The top ten are most iconic album covers from UK artists are:
1) Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
2) The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
3) The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4) The Smiths - Meat is Murder
5) Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
6) The Beatles - Abbey Road
7) Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
7) David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
9) Paul Weller - Stanley Road
10) Sex Pistols - Never Mind the B*****ks

The sleeve for Unknown Pleasures was designed by Peter Saville and released on Factory Records in 1979.

Steve Oliver, managing director of www.musicmagpie.co.uk, said:

"Despite the rise in digital downloads people still love the touch and feel of their albums whether it's a CD or vinyl. It's so much more stylish for people to show off their cool CD's on their shelves rather than as digital downloads on a computer. Manchester has produced some of the most iconic album sleeves of all time."

Peter Hook, ex-New Order and Joy Division, bassist said:

"The main thing in our lives at that time was getting our music released
anyway we could. We weren't interested in being on the cover, we wanted to do things in a different way, we were going to be different. Barney had found the image which we gave to Peter Saville for our cover, he took it and gave it back to us in a format that has lasted over 30years and its now one of the most recognized images in popular music."

The image on Unknown Pleasures comes from an edition of the Cambridge
Encyclopedia of Astronomy. It presents exactly 100 successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered. The cover design is credited to Joy Division, Peter Saville and Chris Mathan. The back cover of the album contains no track listings, leaving a blank table where one would expect the listings to be.

― DJ Mencap, Friday, 7 March 2008 13:18 (eighteen years ago)

él graphic

― electricsound, Friday, 7 March 2008 13:23 (eighteen years ago)

Reid Miles seconded (usually in collaboration with photographer Francis Wolff). Defined a style, defined a label, defined an era, rarely repeated himself, instantly recognizable, absurdly prolific.

― Sara Sara Sara, Friday, 7 March 2008 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

Have any women ever designed any iconic album covers, ever?

― Masonic Boom, Friday, 7 March 2008 16:15 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder: did Echo & the Bunnymen use the same designer on their first four albums? That's as stunning a quartet of tableaux as any I've seen.

Neon Park and Pedro Bell both excellent answers. Can't forget Rick Griffin. And I really wish Gawlik had done more than just the first two Blue Oyster Cult covers - those things look practically radioactive.

(xpost) - Maybe Joni Mitchell?

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Friday, 7 March 2008 16:47 (eighteen years ago)

The Echo and the Bunnymen covers were photographed by Brian Griffin, who was responsible for the first few Depeche Mode LP covers among other things...

I bumped into him in a record shop once, very nice chap..

― Jack Battery-Pack, Friday, 7 March 2008 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

Bill Drummond goes on a great, visionary riff on the Echo LP covers in his book.

― sexyDancer, Friday, 7 March 2008 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

let's hear it for Drew Struzan, staff artist for Pacific Eye & Ear...did Welcome To My Nightmare, among many others...

― henry s, Friday, 7 March 2008 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

barney bubbles exhibition in london for those interested:

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/11574/barney-bubbles-at-london-design-week-2010.html

― jed_, Monday, 20 September 2010 20:24 (fifteen years ago)

<3 Barney Bubbles

― Mormons come out of the sky and they stand there (Abbbottt), Monday, 20 September 2010 20:26 (fifteen years ago)

not sure why the link isn't working, the URL is correct. maybe it's a temp server issue.

― jed_, Monday, 20 September 2010 21:02 (fifteen years ago)

It's working fine for me...

― Mormons come out of the sky and they stand there (Abbbottt), Monday, 20 September 2010 21:06 (fifteen years ago)

Way back in the day I probably would have added Stephen R Gilmore to this list because I consistenly loved the album covers he designed for Nettwerk. While I've cooled on a lot of his work since, I still think the early Nettwerk sleeves are fantastic.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 20 September 2010 21:17 (fifteen years ago)

Paul Whitehead
Kim Hiorthoy (sp?)
Peter Brötzmann (designs most of his own covers)

― margana (anagram), Monday, 20 September 2010 21:34 (fifteen years ago)

stanley donwood! the art for the eraser is AMAAAAAZING.

i really like the covers for trans-europe express and the man machine, but i don't know if the rest of kraftwerk's album covers are this good, whether it's the same designer, or what.

― marc iv, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 00:02 (fifteen years ago)

My vote would probably be Jon Wozencraft of Touch.

― Mark, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 00:54 (fifteen years ago)

Wozencroft, rather.

― Mark, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 00:54 (fifteen years ago)

i really like the covers for trans-europe express and the man machine, but i don't know if the rest of kraftwerk's album covers are this good, whether it's the same designer, or what.

They're all great and mostly done by Emil Schult who also came up with some of their conceptual stuff and wrote some lyrics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Schult

― wk, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 01:49 (fifteen years ago)

As to the original question, if you're talking about sheer volume of work and consistent quality, it's got to be Reid Miles. Personally I'd go for Hipgnosis but they don't count as "a designer" (neither do tDR).

― wk, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 01:52 (fifteen years ago)

Have any women ever designed any iconic album covers, ever?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rqGI-wC4L._SS400_.jpg

yes, i realise that pennie didn't actually design the cover, and that the lettering is a spin off from a presley album, but still, it is an iconic album cover and surely most of that is attributable to pennie smith

re tDR : i believe that tDR are now back to being just ian anderson, and his work on the latest cabaret voltaire remix album is fantastic. much rougher and old school cut up grafx than tDR have done for a long long time.

― mark e, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 08:34 (fifteen years ago)

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